Generation

This well written article describes the i Generation, children born between 1995 and 2012. They have grown up with smartphones, have an Instagram account before they start high school, and do not remember a time before the internet. The impact that smartphones have had on their lives is significant. Here is the link to the full article; in my opinion a worthwhile read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

Seven social media tips to think about...

Seven social media tips from Sally Bowes

QR Codes: an interest in reading

On World Book Day our library chose a variety of popular books that they felt teenage boys would like to read. They wanted to give the boys the opportunity to democratically choose which of the suggested books the library should buy. They used technology to do this! Our library staff created QR codes of reviews of the books and then published these on posters and on the website. Boys use QR scanners on their smart phones to vote for books that appeal to them by simply scanning the QR code and thereafter voting for particular book(s). It’s created a buzz about reading and about the resource centre. The boys feel that they have been included in the process and are excited about our new centre.

Cyber Bullying

'Let’s Fight It Together' is a short film, created by Childnet, to raise awareness about Cyber Bullying and to provide a starting point for discussions about the various related issues.

There are some posting guidelines we may like to encourage:
Before you post, you should T H I N K

• Is it TRUE?
• Is it HELPFUL rather than HURTFUL?
• Is it INTERESTING or INSPIRATIONAL?
• Is it NECESSARY / NICE?
• Is it KIND?

Another great site to visit is http://www.cyberbullying.org/. The site offers loads of resources that give insight to what young people may face online.

You may also want to look at Childline. This site is aimed at children to answer questions they may have about cyber bullying or to offer support in addition to other support they may be given at home or at school.

Stop cyber bullying is great for helping tutors / parents approach the subject with young people. There are age-appropriate section.

How to do research using the Internet?

Information overload is the challenge our users face when using the Internet for research purposes. 

Which sites will provide you with accurate, non-biased, up to date and relevant information for a project you have been set? Effective internet research skills forms part of our digital literacy programme and we have a responsibility to guide our students to become internet-savvy users.

There are many websites, on-line journals etc, that we can recommend to our students as being useful for academic research purposes. Various on-line encyclopedias are also available and some of which we subscribe to. These are often recommended as your first 'port-of-call'.

Teaching our students to critically evaluate the website content to establish the authenticity of the information therein, using various techniques, is another way in which to develop research skills.

Once information from a website has been used, it is important for the students to reference or cite their resource accurately to avoid plagiarism. Simply copying text and pasting it into a project is just not good enough and the student must face the consequences of plagiarizing other people's work. The format for referencing sources varies according to the type of resource. The students must be made aware of different referencing systems, such as the Harvard referencing system, which is most often used in our tertiary institutions.

Avoiding plagiarism, copyright issues etc are just some of many other aspects of becoming digitally savvy and must form part of our digital literacy programme. It is important that our students leave the school well-prepared for the requirements of tertiary institutions. This topic will be expanded upon in future posts.

Cyberbullying and On-line Relationships - Advice for Parents

The information for this post has been sourced from www.commonsense.org, a website that provides resources for teaching Digital Literacy and responsible online citizenship to students.
It also contains useful information to parents about online safety for their children and advice on how to engage your children in conversations about their online image and cybersafety.

I recommend that you take a look at the content of this site to help you as parents become more informed on this often sensitive topic.

Teaching Digital Literacy

Turn wired students into great Digital Citizens

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators

Get all the tools you need with our FREE Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum and Parent Media Education Program. The relevant, ready-to-use instruction helps you guide students to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions in the digital world where they live, study and play.  ...

read more

Common sense Media - Digital Literacy Programme

Use our new Scope & Sequence tool to find the lessons that are just right for your classroom. These cross-curriculular units spiral to address digital literacy and citizenship topics in an age appropriate way. Browse by grade band or click a category to highlight the lessons that address that topic. You can download a PDF of the new Scope & Sequence here. Read more about the recent updates to the curriculum in our blog.

Online Resources for Educators

www.commonsense.org/educators

Online awareness

http://learnitin5.com/Digital-Classroom-Strategies

Internet Safety
http://learnitin5.com/Digital-Classroom-Strategies
Thursday, October 18, 2012

Teaching students about their online identity

Do your students realize how vulnerable they are, when using the Internet and social media? Are you teaching them appropriate use? The guest post below, featuring the video above, is an excellent resource to share with students.
What a 'Mind Reader' Can Learn About Your Online Identity

Q: "When does your personal online identity become fair game to mind readers and Internet thieves alike?"
A: "When you share too much personal information irresponsibly on the web."

This point was made quite clear in recent weeks, when an Internet awareness video (above) went viral, featuring a Belgian mind reader holding court in a tent in Brussels.

The mind reader 'Dave' startled people with his clairvoyant insights into their personal lives. He told them secrets that they never would have expected to hear from a stranger about their personal lives. He told young woman about the tattoos on their lower backs; he surprised a young man by revealing the asking price of the house he's trying to sell. Another woman was shocked to hear that 'Dave' knew her bank account was overdrawn. How was he doing that?

Near the end of each person's 'mind reading,' the interior tent sides dropped to reveal a group of black-clad computer hackers working to unveil information made public by the person all over the Internet. From Facebook status updates, YouTube videos, Twitter posts and more, each person's information was displayed on large monitor screens. The people in the tent were both amazed and shocked to learn that all of the information that 'Dave' knew about them was in fact provided willingly by them on the web.

In fact, 'Dave' was an actor, a good one at that. And the point was made that hackers and Internet thieves can get to know you, through the personal information you leave behind on Internet sites. Here is the full video below. Read down further for tips protecting yourself against Internet theft.
For over a decade, identity theft has been the most reported consumer complaint in the U.S., according to the Federal Trade Commission. Internet security firm Lifelock reports that in 2011, nearly 12 million U.S. adults claimed identity fraud. This fraud cost amounted to about $18 billion in damages to consumers and businesses, according to researchers.

So how can you protect yourself against Internet theft and cyber robbery? October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and web security experts recommend the following tips to help you maintain an impenetrable online defense.

Maintain High Security

Many companies offer online security fixes for your PC and mobile devices. Use them frequently and keep them updated. Internet theft prevention companies like Lifelock recommend that having the latest security software and opting in for an online monitoring service are your best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats.

Limit Password Sharing

Create and remember unique password settings for all of your devices. Don't share these passwords with strangers. Keep an offline record of your passwords. Limit the numbers of persons with whom you share information.

Passwords

Experts suggest using both capital and lowercase letters combined with numbers and symbols for more secure passwords. Use different passwords for each account you own online.

Secure Web-Connected Devices

Along with computers, smart phones, gaming systems, and other web-enabled devices also need protection from viruses and malware.

Be Smart About Wi-Fi

Don't check your personal bank accounts at local coffee shops. Be smart about using public Wi-Fi access. Some suggest that using your phone's 3G or 4G network is safer than public servers.
Using these tips above can help you keep your online identity away from 'mind readers' like 'Dave' and keep you personal sanity strong.

by Amy Coleman 

Internet Safety

With the increase in the number of personal devices able to connect to the internet via school wireless, home networks or 3G, it impossible to effectively restrict the sites that our children visit, what they post or who they talk to. Even if we could restrict access, there are a gazillion other ways that they young people can make undesirable connections or view unsavory content.

Parents are not only concerned about the content their children have access to. They are also concerned about the length of time their children spend glued to their various devices. As a school it is impossible to govern what happens outside of the classroom. Each family will have to decide on what feels comfortable for them in terms of setting boundaries for Internet and computing access – where their children have access, the sort of access and the duration of access.

As a school we look to our parents to partner us in empowering their children with the knowledge and skills they need to be safe and have positive Internet experiences. We offer guidance on how to create a positive digital footprint, how to recognise potential internet risks and how to avoid exploitation or victimisation. The linked resources below offer great advice. Please discuss Internet safety and responsibility with your children.

Useful Site: http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents

Some important topics include:

• Cell phones and safety
• Bullying 
• Chats and Emails
• Internet safety
• Privacy 
• Social networking 
• Online predators 
• Creating the right sort of digital footprint

Useful links: http://www.webwisekids.org/parents-teachers-helpful-links.html

Digital Footprint

How to behave appropriately, safely and responsibly online; how to stay safe and to create a positive personal profile, a digital footprint that you are proud of...These skills that are very topical in educational discussions.

• awareness of the consequences of online behaviour 
• respect privacy and personal information – your own and others 
• select appropriate spaces to work in and contribute to 
• encourage appropriate, ethical and responsible internet use 
• be proactive about inappropriate online behaviour 
• actively create a positive digital presence and be proud of all you put online

We are preparing pupils for both their working lives and their personal lives by teaching skills of communication, collaboration, research, independent learning and networking. Many current vocations include the integrated use of technology and it could be argued that technology has become integral to everyday communication. Schools spend significant portions of their budgets on monitoring, limiting or restricting access to certain technologies or Internet usage. In many ways, while appreciating school liability and safety concerns, restricting access to technology creates a false environment and limits the development of those skills required for 21st century living and learning. Limiting access to technology reduces pupils’ skills in learning how to behave appropriately and keep safe when using technology. Our role as educators is to equip our learners and parents with the skills and resources they need to that they are able to understand and make sensible choices about cyber behaviour.

A colleague recently commented that with education one isn't sure until significant time has passed as to whether a particular method or technology has been successful or not. We therefore need budget to experiment, to try new things and to keep asking the question as to whether what we do adds educational value. I consider myself fortunate indeed to work at a school that has a single rule for the use of technology in the school; it must be used to improve educational outcomes. If pupils choose to use it in other ways then we regard that as a behaviour issue, not a technology issue. 

I do however, agree that there is plenty more that we can and should be doing to improve awareness and to educate about Internet behaviour...Watch this space!

Internet Access

So much is possible with modern technology. The Internet offers amazing opportunities to collaborate, communicate, curate and create. Unfortunately, in South Africa, we are limited by the quality of Internet access. Not having sufficient Internet access actually costs money because schools typically then replicate many of those services in-house, with associated technical and personnel overheads. Schools with sufficient Internet access can use all sorts of free software to do amazing and challenging educational activities, besides using it for administrative functions such as mail, file storage etc. It would be interesting to quantify expenses in terms of physical hardware and in-house technical expertise to manage the hardware/software vs using cloud computing to achieve the same end. Adequate Internet access has thus become a budgetary priority!

Appropriate Internet use is obviously an essential component of any daily academic programme.  Our educational responsibility is to equip our learners with the skills necessary to become comfortable, competent and responsible digital consumers and creators. I'll write further about the sorts of educational support and discussions that happen in classes and tutor groups....

At school we take reasonable precautions to prevent access to unsuitable sites. Limiting and restricting access is not our core focus though. Generally, the boys and staff appreciate and value the technology rich environment we all work in and the majority use the Internet sensibly and intelligently. Our focus is to provide the tools and develop and encourage the skills that empower staff and learners to maximise the  educational benefits of using the Internet in teaching and learning. These ongoing educational conversations are very much part of our professional development and teaching programme.